The Special Educational Needs (Provision of Information by Local Education Authorities) (England) Regulations 2001

Citation, commencement, interpretation and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Special Educational Needs (Provision of Information by Local Education, Authorities) (England) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 1st September 2001.

(2) In these Regulations—

• “health authority” has the same meaning as in the National Health Service Act 1977(1);

• “social services authority” means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970(2) acting in the discharge of such functions as are referred to in section 1A of that Act, and

• “statement” means a statement of special educational needs made under section 324 of the Education Act 1996.

(3) These Regulations apply only in relation to England.

(4) Nothing in these Regulations applies in relation to—

(a) nursery schools, or

(b) children under compulsory school age.

Publication of information

2.  A local education authority shall—

(a) publish information about the matters set out in the Schedule to these Regulations in accordance with regulation 3(1), (2) and (3);

(b) keep that information under review, and

(c) where there is a significant change in any of that information, revise the information accordingly and publish the revised information in accordance with regulation 3(5).

Manner of publication of information

3.—(1) The local education authority shall publish the information referred to in regulation 2(a) by—

(a) providing a written copy of the information to any health authority or social services authority which in the opinion of the local education authority has an interest in that information;

(b) making the information available on a website which the authority maintain on the Internet, and

(c) providing a written copy of the information to any person on request.

(2) The information about the matters set out in paragraph 1 of the Schedule to these Regulations shall be published on or before 1st April 2002.

(3) The information about the matters set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Schedule to these Regulations shall be published on or before 31st July 2002.

(4) Any information to be published pursuant to regulation 2(c) shall be published by the local education authority as soon as reasonably practicable after a revision has been made by—

(a) providing the revised information to a health authority or social services authority previously provided with information by the local education authority pursuant to regulation 3(1)(a);

(b) updating the website maintained by the authority on the Internet to display the revised information, and

(c) notifying the maintained schools in the authority’s area of the revisions by post or by electronic communication.

(5) Information published in accordance with this regulation shall be published free of charge.

Estelle Morris

Secretary of State for Education and Skills

16th June 2001